| As an advocate, a neighborhood organizer, and an elected official Shelia Stubbs has helped enact criminal justice reform, created programs to involve young people in social change, championed initiatives to clean up Madison's lakes and streams, fought for safer neighborhoods where all children thrive, increased funding for services for seniors and people with disabilities, worked to elect strong progressive candidates to office, and collaborated to bring expertise from the UW into the broader community.
Shelia grew up in family of advocates and her involvement in the community has been lifelong. Her mom has been a community leader for 50 years, involved with the local NAACP chapter and the UW African-American Alumni Foundation of the University of Wisconsin among many others. Together, Shelia and her mom helped establish the NAACP Madison Branch Youth Council in 2003.
Shelia has served as First-Vice President of the NAACP Madison Branch, ThirdVice-President of the Wisconsin State NAACP Conference of Branches, the Chair of the Black Caucus of the Wisconsin Democratic Party, and President of the Bridge/Lake Point Neighborhood Association. She is a member of Madison Alumnae Chapter of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc.
In 2006, she ran for the Dane County Board, the legislative branch of County government, to deliver more effective representation for Madison's south side. She won that race, against a three term incumbent, and has been re-elected six times.
She's made a difference. She's spearheaded creation and implementation of measurable equity goals across all departments in County government, led the charge for expansion of the Community Restorative Justice Court that holds young people accountable and keeps them out of the criminal justice system, served as Chair of the powerful Health and Humans Needs Committee and as a member of the budget writing committee, and pushed for, and won, mandatory sexual harassment training for all county employees.
In addition, Shelia has served on the Long Term Care Committee; the Area Agency on Aging; the Affordable Housing Trust Funds; the Monona Terrace Board of Directors; the Greater Madison Convention & Visitors Board of Directors; the Land Conservation Committee; the Alliant Energy Center Commission; South Madison Fresh Market Project Team Committee; and the Public Protection & Judiciary Alternatives to Arrest and Incarceration Work Group. She co-chaired the Racial Disparities Sub-Committee and is currently the chair of the UW-Extension Committee.
A former probation and parole officer, Shelia, 47, earned undergraduate degrees from Tougaloo College (Mississippi) and Mt. Senario College (Ladysmith, WI) and has a MS from Cardinal Stritch University. She and her husband, Bishop Godfrey Stubbs, are the proud parents of a daughter, Aquila, 9. |